:king: WE TOOK THE RAW PLUNGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We just fed Byron his first raw meal (a chicken drumstick, bone and skin included)....and HE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!!!! He ate every last little piece! He started by licking it and then looking at us every so often, not really sure what to make of it. Then we started with the "goooood boy"s and he just went to town!!!!

And now for some questions...

1. He decided that eating his drumstick on the plate provided was not to his liking....so he took it to the living room and ate it there, dribbling little bits of blood here and there, which he promptly licked up. All I have to say is: THANK GOD for laminate flooring!!! So our question is: how do we keep him from eating his food in a certain designated area???

2. He is currently about 20 pounds and we fed him one whole drumstick for his dinner. Would this be roughly the size of one meal??

3. How many times a day should we be feeding him? We had him at 3 times/day with his kibble. Should we stay the same with the new food?

Thanks!!

PS: Thanks to technodoll and all the rest of the members who encouraged us to try raw!!! HOORAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Picture of Byron:

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"My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am"

1. how do we keep him from eating his food in a certain designated area???

2. He is currently about 20 pounds and we fed him one whole drumstick for his dinner. Would this be roughly the size of one meal??

3. How many times a day should we be feeding him? We had him at 3 times/day with his kibble. Should we stay the same with the new food?

1. you can train your dog to eat in one designated area... very few dogs eat raw "from the bowl", they love to plunk it down on the floor and take their comfy time... get a couple of those cheap shoe mats you put near your front door, they clean up really easy, have rubber backing so nothing spills on your floor, and train your puppy that THIS is his eating spot. he'll catch on quicker than you think

2 & 3: it is best to feed him about 2 to 3% of his anticipated adult weight, split into 3 meals for now, then 2 at around 5 months of age. You may want to buy a cheap kitchen scale (for about $5) to weigh the food until you can visualise what meats & bones weigh how much. Looks can be really deceiving, trust me! LOL remember that there is alot of moisture in raw food so your pup won't be drinking as much as when he was on kibble, but he will need to pee just the same

I would stay with chicken until his stools are firm and then you can introduce small amounts of organ meats every other day, and then start adding different sources of protein. the rule of thumb is: too much, too soon, and you will need alot of paper towels LOL! so nice and easy does it... if he looks thin, feed him more. if he starts to get chubby, feed him less. it's that simple!

tips:

-remember to give 1 capsule of ESTHER-C every day, along with 1 capsule of Vitamin E and some ocean fish oil
-frozen whole eggs are both a treat and a toy, alot of dogs love eating the shell just like chips!
-frozen turkey necks are great pacifiers and for teething pups, a wonderful distraction as well as a meal
-if you can find frozen raw green tripe patties, it's the most amazing food for your money, completely balanced and nutrient-rich. it's worth the stink, LOL!
-you can have fun with the raw... freeze some raw meatballs (ground beef with raw egg & pulverized eggshell for calcium) and serve frozen or thawed. you can add some cream cheese for an extra treat, or canned salmon, the sky's the limit.

most of all, have fun and enjoy your puppy being a little wolf!

ps: do not worry if byron's stools are a bit funny at first, it's normal: his body is adjusting to processing real food! and the color of his poop will vary, depending on what he eats... it can be a real rainbow sometimes, LOL!

As Iím sure you can guess from my username, Iím Byronís Dad. We have no power at the house, so I thought I would reply at the office. So far things are going well on the raw food. Byron has a bit more energy than before, so instead of bouncing off the walls, he is now bouncing off the ceilings. His pooping frequency has more than halved, which is most welcome. However, most importantly, he seems to prefer the raw chicken over the kibble. He spends a couple of minutes licking the mat when he is done, and then sits and stares at us looking for more. He rarely licked his bowel when eating kibble.

I canít wait until we can start him on other meats Ė Iíve been eyeing the oxtails at the grocery store. It feels good knowing that we are starting him down a road of better health. After this eye-opening experience, Iím just shocked at the junk that is out there masquerading as dog food. It would be like feeding your kids patties made up of sawdust, salt, flavour and vitaminsÖ.BLECH!

I do have one question. Can the shards of chicken bone pose a problem? I noticed that the first time he ate the chicken, there were little and rather pointy bits of bone on the floor. I havenít seen any since, but just wanted to ask about them. It may well be he just wasnít chewing properly the first time.

As per the bones, i've heard thats a bit normal at first until the stomach gets used to breaking them down more. Just keep an eye for any blood, but you shouldnt worry.

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Please please please give Maggie the steak! Its not too big for her little mouth!

Their impression of power is remarkable. They give one the feeling of immense reserves of energy, of great reservoirs of knowledge, of tolerance of disposition, obstinacy of purpose, and tenacity of principle. They are responsive, and they have a lot of quiet, good sense.

chicken bones rarely cause problems, just make sure your pup chews them well though. no inhaling 4" long drumsticks, LOL! dogs's sytems are pretty well designed: if bones in the tummy are too hard or too big to be digested, they get regurgitated (soon after the meal, or a day or so later). sometimes you will see bone fragments in the poop - but they are soft and mushy. often a sign of too much bone, not enough meat

chickens for human consumption are slaughtered at just a few months old, their bones don't have time to become big, hard and brittle, hence the easy digsetibility factor for our little carnivores.

I have noticed people talking about the use of digestive enzymes and the like to help dogs adapt to raw food. Should I be thinking about these as well, or are the facts that Byron still has relatively solid stool, and has increased energy levels an indication that he doesnít need them? As he is still a pup, might he still have enzymes from his mother?

i would only add digestive enzymes if the dog is having a hard transition (liquid poops, low energy, etc). you will more often see this in older or unhealthy dogs, less often with puppies. by the sounds of it i'd say bryon is doing mightily fine!

his stools are solid and he's not gassy, etc? now is the time to add another protein source! and a bit of organ meat too. maybe an egg?... red meats tend to be richer (beef, lamb, goat, pork) so it's important to balance with bones. you can feed a chicken frame (the trimmed ones with very little meat) with some beef heart for example. Watch out for those oxtails, the little bone in there is very slippery and a perfect shape & size for choking.. i'd just feed the meat if i were you. a nice big beef rib will give lots of chewing pleasure, but generally beef bones are not digestible.

raw fish have great digestible bones, as do turkey necks & frames (not the wings or legs IMO). pork ribs & tails are great chewing, the feet are too boney and the ears too fatty - all learned by trial and error, ha ha!

keep all the eggshells in your house. when they are very dry, run them through a coffee grinder to make a powder, and store in a plastic container. for every pound of ground meat (beef, pork, etc) add 1 tsp of eggshell powder for calcium - for those days when you don't have edible bones on hand

well puppyluv's layla is a trout-hound IMO, your best bets are oily sea fish, not farmed. sardines come in small or large sizes, mackeral are also a nice size, the only thing i would not feel comfortable feeding raw is wild pacific salmon, even after freezing. i guess any fish that your dog likes, and is affordable and caught wild would be ok! my dogs USED to love raw frozen fish (summer fishcicles, LOL) but now they don't i bought the fish frozen at a portuguese grocery not far away.